Machinarium is awesome no doubt about it...Ive pre ordered and cant wait to play the whole thing.So I started looking for games similar to this masterpiece to tide me over until release date.I found a few gems that I think are comparative in style and game play.Listed in chronological order of when I discovered and played them:

Shift 2-different but good in a somber wayLittle Wheel- Very short but entertainingAlchemia-Longer than Little Wheel and has the feel of samorost and machinarium, very enjoyableHaluz-Made by same people that made Alchemia (springtail studio)Haluz 2-see above

These games are all free to play, and I hope its okay that I'm posting other (free) games in the machinarium forum. Please comment on other point and click gems you have found.Also SpringTail Studio List Amanita Design On their website as a fellow indie designer.

Since Im currently stuck on a puzzle in Machinarium, I'm googling these games you suggested. Just passed a few minutes with Shift 2...nice puzzler-really makes your mind grind!! Now Im going to try Little Wheel...thanks for posting about these!!!

I bought Machinarium specifically because it reminded me of The Neverhood, one of my all time favorite games. It too was a series of puzzles in a beautifully created world, but it was done entirely with claymation. Its old now (I think circa 1996) and I don't know if it would even run on a modern OS (it was "Designed for Windows 95"). Also like Machinarium it had an incredible soundtrack - very organic and a perfect fit for the game - but it was more vocal than Machinarium's synthesized sounds.

The black forest is very short, but fun game...different mechanics each time, graphics and sound are great...different but great...just don't buy into the "emotionalism" of it ha ha. had fun playing through the first three episodes.